Stefen Fangmeier

As a visual effects supervisor at Industrial Light and Magic for over 15 years, Stefen Fangmeier provided technical wizardry for some of the most spectacular films in the cinematic canon. His period of work in effects covers a time during which computer-generated imagery developed at dizzying speed, from the clunky and pixellated to the startlingly realistic. Worlds that Fangmeier has helped to bring to cinematic life include the bloody battlefields of "Saving Private Ryan," the dinosaur-stalked plains of "Jurassic Park" and the seascapes of "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World." It was whilst working on the latter film that Fangmeier mentioned to 20th Century Fox that he was interested in directing his own film; after he'd worked for them again doing visuals for the Gothic children's fantasy "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," the studio granted his wish by giving him helming duties on their adventure epic "Eragon," in 2006. "Eragon" unfortunately failed to set off the sort of firestorm that its creator has effortlessly constructed onscreen, disappointing critics and fans of Christopher Paolini's source novel alike and drawing unfavorable comparisons to the "Lord of the Rings" and "Star Wars" franchises. Fangmeier has since moved back into effects, working on Timor Bekmamabetov's hit "Wanted" and Chris Gorak's "The Darkest Hour."